1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lake weed harvester, and in particular to a machine that removes lake weed and deposits it via a transport assembly onto a hopper, and then removes the lake weed via the same transport assembly from the hopper to a disposal or deposit point.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lake and other aquatic weeds provide a multitude of undesirable effects. Among them are odors, impedance of navigation and recreational use, deposits onto water vessels and unsightliness.
Because of these and other reasons, tools and machines have been developed over the years to combat the growth of lake weed.
The most basic tools are hand tools that attempt to cut and/or pull the weeds. Of course, the operation of hand tools is labor intensive both in effort and time.
Other attempted solutions utilize herbicides and/or chemicals. Yet, there may be environmental concerns associated with the use of chemicals and herbicides.
Still other attempts utilize machines in an attempt to control the aquatic growth. One such product is called a Jenson Lake Mower. This product is a boat mounted cutter. While this mover may work well for its intended purposes, it does not address the issue of collecting and disposing the aquatic growth.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,696 to Vasby is titled Aquatic-Weed Removal Machine. This patent describes a machine with a paddle wheel equipped with a hinged plate connected to the peripheral edge of each paddle in a manner such that as the wheel rotates, individual plates pivot from an inward folded position at the edge of the paddles to a radially extended one. The plates move into pressing contact with the top of a tangentially moving conveyor whereby weeds are held by the belt and removed as the belt and machine move.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,465 to Horvath et al. is titled Aquatic Weeding Device. This patent shows a weeding element and a weed transporter being at opposed ends of a vessel.
None of these devices show a compact weeding harvester with a compact design.
None of these devices show a single integrated collection and removal transport assembly.
Thus there exists a need for a lake weed harvester that solves these and other problems.